Metroid: A Gladiators Story
by LuminothLight34
Summary: Look through the eyes of the vhozon gladiator Veneer as he fightss to stay alive in a world that seeemingly wants him dead. Based after the events of metroid prime 2.


Introduction:

Hello everyone, I'm LuminothLight34 and this is my second fanfic. I centered it around another interesting race, the Vhozon. These are highly insulated due to the cold nature of their home planet, Vho. If you want more info, I suggest you look 'Vhozon' up somewhere on the internet or else ask a friend. Now you may be wondering what is with the Latin? Well, I take Latin and personally I love it. And you got to admit, it sounds pretty cool. The translations for the chapters are at the beginning just under this intro for your reading and translating pleasure. I will say no more except please no flames. Flames make me sad ;'(

Enjoy!

Translations:

Chapter one: Invictus maneo = I remain unvanquished

Chapter tow: Articulo Mortis = at the point of death

Chapter three: Ostia aperiri = opening doors

Chapter four: intaminatis fulget honoribus = untarnished, she shines with honor

Chapter five: Servis Libertatis = Freeing slaves

Chapter one: Invictus Maneo

A lone Vhozon gladiator stood in the middle of an empty arena, surrounded by cheering and jeering people who had come to watch him fight. Tall and compact, Vhozon were tough nuts to crack, but their double reverse jointed legs made the acrobatic movements so sorely needed to evade the vicious beasts of the arena hard. It was for these reasons that this particular Vhozon, named Veneer, had been selected form the pool of gladiatorial candidates. He was breathing hard, almost completely unscathed and had defeated well over 13 enemies. He was armed with a long glowing blue sword, his ice-emitting judicator having been taken from him on his capture. Veneer reflected back to the day he had been captured. He had been a total of 9 years old (in Vhozon years, one year was total to two human years). He had been running a race with three other Vhozon on their home planet, Vho.

All of a sudden, a huge armored and banged-up ship had swooped in. Six armed humans had charged out, killing the onlookers with their weapons. They had come to where Veneer had been cowering behind a boulder with his two companions. These, the humans shot through their heads, grasping Veneer in a headlock and forcefully knocking him out. He had always despised humans after that, but mostly just the militia. He had been brought to an asteroid base where he and seventy-two other prisoners were being held for gladiatorial purposes. They had been kept in terrible conditions, never having enough to eat and never getting any sleep. There had been a deep penetrating cold that was hard to forget… An earsplitting roar brought him back to reality, causing him to look up as a huge, six legged beast charged at him. He leapt out of

the way, quickly morphing into a small, spinning top like device that had retractable blades.

Veneer propelled himself forward, morphing back into his bi-pedal stage at the last second and slicing the beast's thin, poorly armored head from its heavily armored shoulders. Pathetic. The crowd went wild as he placed a boot-like foot on the things back; stabbing the creature through the heart to make sure it was dead. The crowd continued to roar, throwing small, round devices that exploded in showers of sparks; items to send forth the approval of the fight-goers. A tall, lightly armored human jogged up to him, leading him out of the arena. When he re-entered the pre-arena area, he found the rest of his fellow captives there, applauding him as he was shoved roughly into the cell with a group of gladiators in it.

He answered the congratulations he received with equal happiness and relief. However, he knew that he would probably not survive tomorrows fight. It was his third year at that particular arena, and the third year opponents were more than a match for him. Some of them were even human. The rest of them knew it as well, and tried their best to hide it by appearing jubilant. Veneer, retired to one corner of the room, taking his blades out of his arm plating and cleaning them as well as he could, wiping the multi-colored mess of blood and gore residue left by the exotic animals and aliens he had fought. A clanging at the far end of the room caught his attention. One of the prisoner handlers was leading a gold and red armored figure through the cages, apparently giving him a tour. This was common, as many gamblers would actually buy gladiators and use them for personal slaves. The golden armored figures head turned towards Veneer, its Green glowing visor seeming to stare at him. He stared back with all the open defiance that a weary exhausted gladiator could muster. The two of them stopped at the far end of the room, apparently conversing. The golden figure gestured towards veneer, which saw the handler laugh and shake his head. No, thought veneer bitterly, he was too important to be sold off the bat like so many others.

The figure would have to wait until he had completed tomorrow's bout of fighting. Veneer got the distinct impression the golden armored figure was annoyed, and stalked silently out, again glancing at veneer, who took a heavy interest at the dirt floor in front of him. He heard the armored door clang shut. Veneer replaced his blades in their sockets and morphed into his alternate form, attempting to get some sleep. However, all he could see when he closed his eyes was the blank and dead eyes of the friends who had been killed in the arena. Beating those images out of his head, Veneer eventually managed to get to sleep.

Chapter 2: In Articulo Mortis

Veneer was roughly awoken by a sharp object prodding his side. A male Cylosian stood over him, sneering as he got up. "Well, has the crowds little pet finally awoken?" he said sarcastically. Veneer calmly yanked the stun device from the cylosian's grasp and snapped it like a twig. He made as if to turn away, but instead brought his hefty fist under the Cylosian's chin, sending him sprawling against a wall; stunned. "Yeah, I think I have. No thanks to you." He stalked away, leaving a furious and fearful Cylosian behind him. They were notorious cowards, and harbored a distinct hatred for anyone that was unlike them. This meant they were always pissed at someone. Veneer could hear the announcer's voice through the arenas thick stone walls: "Today, our champion will face three, fierce opponents. If he defeats them, he will be granted freedom!" Veneer slammed a small plate of armor onto his semi-vulnerable midsection and sheathed his knives. The long door opened to reveal the arena he despised so much. The harsh sunlight caused him to squint, unable to see for a minute or so while the announcer droned on and on about how well he is expected to perform. "Without further ado, I present to you, the champion!" Veneer slowly walked out onto the field, this time ignoring the crowd's wild applause. A huge cage at one end of the field opened to reveal a huge two-legged best that roared a challenge at him, banging its spiked fists together.

The thing charged at Veneer. He felt adrenaline shoot through him as he jumped onto the things back, slicing a spike form its fist as it roared and swatted at him with its massive hands. He raked the things head with his twin blades, tearing open the skin on its head and revealing the bone beneath. It roared in agony, though it was still alive. Veneer jumped from its back, twisting gracefully in midair and hurling the spike at its skull at terminal velocity. It impacted with a wet thud, impaling its head. The thing gave a final roar of pain and flopped over, its ruined head oozing dark red blood. Too easy. He placed his foot on it and stabbed it twice through the heart. The crowd was going insane at this point. Veneer was too intoxicated by adrenalin to notice them and instead turned towards the second cage opening slowly. A horrific four legged spider like creature slithered forth, screaming at veneer form across

the arena. It scuttled at him, sideways like a crab. Veneer considered taking off its legs, but found that his blades were too short. He spotted two blade-like appendages protruding from its back and decided they would have to do. He leaped at it, spinning to the side as it swiped viciously at him. One of the long legs connected with veneer, sending him crashing into a wall. "Ow…" thought Veneer as he stood, still dazed as the crab-spider screeched its seeming victory to the skies. Veneer sprinted at the thing, allowing his momentum to carry him over its back. He sliced the blades form its slimy back as he passed, eliciting a squeal of pain as the thing clawed at him, seeking to impale him.

Just a bit closer…That's it! Veneer gave a mighty swing with both hands, sending the blade crashing into its leg with brutal force. To veneers surprise, this only served to piss the thing off more. Veneer ran as fast as he could as the enraged spider scuttled after him. He sprang up, his enforced leg joints sending him up unbelievably high. He turned again and hurled both blades like spears, impaling the creature through its neck. Its partially severed head spewed orange goo and it frothed and spat at him with fury, drenched in its own lifeblood. Finally, chest heaving and uttering great gasps of air, its knees buckled and it fell and died. The crowd gave a huge collective cheer.

The third and final cage opened, screeching ominously. The thing inside dove into the sand, flinging up huge quantities of dirt. "No way…" thought veneer as the thing surfaced. It was long and tan colored, its soft belly skin pulsating. It had a huge armored head and a circular gape. Its three red eyes glared daggers at Veneer as it dove underground again. Veneer felt the ground beneath him rumble and sprang away just in time to see the thing emerge, wide-mouthed, at the place where he had been just standing. After dodging many such attacks and getting nowhere, Veneer decided on a course of action. He sprinted to where the dead spider lay, heaving the twin blades from its neck.

He moved aside just in time to see the creatures mouth devour the spiders semi-severed head. He ran to the middle of the arena and stood still. The crowd waited with bated breath as he did nothing. Finally, beginning to feel vibrations, he placed both blades against the ground, flush with the hard-packed sand. The thing emerged and as it did, Veneer threw all his weight against the spikes, feeling the tug and pull as they tore twin ragged gashes through the things soft belly skin. It landed awkwardly, screaming and roaring in pain as it writhed, spilling its entrails onto the ground as its stomach opened even further. Finally, with a great heave, it laid lifeless and bleeding, a torn and broken shadow of its former strong self.

Veneer almost felt sorry for it, until he remembered why he was here. Not to feel sympathy for his competitors, but to stay alive as long as possible. Meanwhile, the crowd had worked themselves into a frenzy. they shouted and cheered. Veneer was led off the arena by one of his handlers. He was met by cheers and jubilant noises from the other gladiators. He was given a few minutes to say goodbye before he was to be escorted off the premises. He went directly for his best friend, who beamed at him. She was another Vhozon, and couldn't have been happier for him as he walked to her and embraced her. "I will come back and get you all out." Was all he managed to say. "Don't worry about us." was her answer. He embraced her one final time before being led away to the main arena vestibule where he was presented with the thing for which he had longed for many years: freedom. He was presented with a medal, and then led to the exit where he was allowed to leave.

He stood on the empty street, wondering what to do. He decided to leave Samara 6 and cast around for someplace where he could purchase a ship. He went straight across the nearly empty street and to a transport dealership. He sold the medal, which meant nothing to him, for a very large amount of money and was able to purchase a small, unarmed gunship for his personal use. It was a slim affair, with two long wings curving in graceful arcs away from the pointed ovoid hull. Its engines were neatly tucked away in the back with four multidirectional thrusters mounted around the engine block. It had weapons mounts that had been stripped off for "safety reasons", as the dealer had so blandly put it. The only real problem with it was that it was completely filthy. "Like everything else on this dammed junk heap" seethed Veneer as the ships engines sputtered to life.

He seated himself at the controls, getting the regular feel for them and generally getting the overall feel of the 65-foot gunship. He flexed the elevation controls, causing the gunship to rise smoothly away from the dirty lot that it had sat in for Lord knows how long. He flew it for a while, having quite a bit of trouble with the engines. "This…thing…needs…a…major…tune-up!" gritted Veneer as he forced the engines into the forward position for the umpteenth time. He piloted the gunship down out of the upper atmosphere, heading towards what he knew to be a mechanics shop. He landed around back, just as the engines died in earnest. He opened the hatch, sliding out and walking in to the small but clean shop. A human mechanic stood at the main counter, polishing what appeared to be a hydraulic piston. The human looked at him asking: "What'cha need?" Veneer motioned out back and the mechanic followed him, muttering about aliens who don't speak plain English. Veneer gestured towards his gunship, shrugging his armored shoulders. The mechanic walked around the ship, noting the out-of-date engines and thrusters and the empty missile pods.

"Hmm…well, you got quite a mess on your hands here." "I'd rate repairs at about 200 credits for the thrusters, 500 for the engines and, truth be told, I can't help you out with the weapons." Veneer nodded slowly and went on board his ship to retrieve his money. He collected 700 of his some 40,000 credits and exited the gunship. The mechanic helped him move the beleaguered little ship into an empty lot. The mechanic told him to come back in two days while he repaired the ship. Veneer agreed to pay 300 credits in advance and walked out of the lot.

He walked around the small town he had stopped in and simply looked around, unsure of what to do with his newfound freedom. He spotted a local bar and walked in, catching a few odd glances form the bartender and some other patrons. His eyes roved the jam-packed bar as they adjusted to the dark interior. A lone figure at the back of the bar caught his attention. Tall, blond, and definitely human, she was dressed in a blue bodysuit and was staring off into space. Veneer walked up to her. Something about her sparked a kind of interest, recognition. The way she held herself reminded Veneer vaguely of the golden armored figure who had come to the arena a day before his final fight. "May I join you?" he said in awkward English.

Chapter 3: Ostia Aperiri

Samus was standing alone at the back of a bar at some rundown town on Samara 6, wondering whether she should leave or get another drink. Her train of thought was interrupted as a tall, blue-green armored figure walked up to her. She looked over to him with surprise evident in her sapphire blue eyes. The figure asked her if it could join her. She found it hard to believe, but she said it anyway: "Noxus?" The figure stepped backwards slightly and shook its head. It was definitely Vhozon and judging by the deep mechanical baritone, it was male. Suddenly, Samus had a vision of a filthy cell, and a green-blue armored figure sitting against the back wall polishing twin blades. She had asked the handler what his name was, but she had been told that he didn't have one. The flashback ended with the handler's malicious laugh.

She allowed the surprised expression to leave her eyes and nodded at the alien. She motioned for him to stay where he was and went off to the bar to get another drink. When she came back, she found the Vhozon sitting down and polishing the ovoid object attached to its forearm. This Samus recognized as a typical Vhozon weapon called a judicator. He looked up at her, re-cocking the weapon and applying a safety. "You got a name?" asked Samus. The alien nodded, much to Samus's surprise and said in its deep voice: "Veneer." "And yourself?" "Samus Aran" The alien nodded, falling silent. After a rather awkward moment, Samus said: "You're the gladiator I saw at the arena cells." "They told me you didn't have a name." Veneer simply said: "I never told them my name." Samus nodded. "I'm assuming you won that final fight that the handler was talking about?"The alien nodded. Samus wished he would take off his helmet, as she couldn't tell what his expression was. "What made you stop by this bar?" Samus asked. "Ship repairs." "Apparently, they won't be done for two days so I'm burning time."

Samus nodded again. "What kind of ship you got?" The alien laughed ruefully, saying something in a smooth alien language. "I'm sorry?" said Samus, looking quizzically at Veneer. He answered in a somewhat embarrassed voice: "a real piece of junk if you know what I mean." Samus gave a quiet chuckle saying; "well, you wouldn't be the first one." The alien nodded, standing up. It was nice to have met you, Miss Aran. He extended a gauntleted hand. Samus shook it, giving him a smile. He nodded and turned, stalking out of the bar.

Samus watched him go, clocking a gaping and rather touchy-feely onlooker as he did. She laughed at this, glad to have something to laugh about. She slammed her mug down on the table, leaving a few credits on the bar counter and stepping out into the filthy air of Samara 6. "Ugh this place smells like sewage." She said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. She walked off to where she had parked her gunship, her mind set on the blue0green alien. As she neared her hunter class gunship, she saw a group of tall, lightly armed humans waiting for her. "Oh crap…" she thought. "And without my suit as well." She looked at each of them in turn, saying: "do you mind moving? You see, most people don't teleport into their ships; rather, they use the hatch. Which you just so happen to be blocking." The tallest one cracked his knuckles menacingly and said to his cronies: "get her." The four other humans walked slowly towards her, cocking their antique handguns as they did. Samus whipped out her paralyze and shot at each one of them with a stun blast. They staggered back, but the effects of the non-lethal weapon wore off quickly. The handguns cracked and sputtered spewing bullets left and right. One of the stray rounds carved a furrow across Samus's side, and she gasped in pain.

One of the larger men stalked menacingly towards her. Just as he neared her, the high pitched whine of Ice-based weapon sliced through the dusky evening air. The man staggered back, clutching at the ice shard growing from his chest. The other four men looked on in shock as a tall, green-blue armored figure stalked out from behind the gunship next to Samus's, holding an ovoid weapon high. They broke into a terrified run, trying to get as far away from the deadly figure with all speed. Veneer looked to Samus who nodded gratefully. He saluted her with a strange twist of his ovoid left hand and walked off down the street. Samus stumbled into her gunship, applying a pressure bandage to the superficial wound in her side and flopping down onto her bed. She got up again and locked up her gunship, setting the defense turrets to stun and activating the surveillance drones. She then took a shower and went to bed, going over the days strange events again and again in her head. She fell asleep to the soft hum of a generator unit in her gunships engine blocks, still pondering that mysterious Vhozon who called himself Veneer.

Chapter 4 intaminatis fulget honoribus

Veneer was walking slowly down the street, reflecting on what he had just done. He had saved Samus by mere chance, hearing gunfire as he had come walking down this same road on his way to the mechanics shop. He felt his judicator misting slightly against his left thigh as he walked, still cooling down from the overcharge bolt he had built up to rid Samus of the immediate threat. He soon came upon a small hotel on the outskirts of the town and walked in. He walked up to the receptionist's desk, resting his still-misting weapon on it. The young male human behind the desk gave an unnerved glance at the weapon before turning his attention to the tall armored alien in front of him. "I need a room." Said Veneer. "N-no problem sir." Answered the stuttering human. "Room 122 is vacant; you can stay there." "How much?" questioned Veneer." "25 credits a night sir."

Answered the still-nervous clerk, eyes still flicking once in a while towards the large weapon. Veneer nodded, slapping twenty-five credits onto the counter and stalking off down the hall towards his room. Veneer stalked into the small room, looking around as he observed the dingy spectacle: the room had a small bed and a bathroom of the main entrance. Veneer sat on the bed for a moment, but soon left it as he was unused to the comfort it offered. He instead morphed into his Vhoscythe and put himself away in a corner where he soon fell asleep. When he awoke, he felt refreshed and morphed into his bi-pedal form. He walked down the hall again, slapping his keycard onto the clerks counter as he did.

The first thing he did was go to the repair shop. Almost immediately, he felt that something was wrong. The shops windows were dark and his gunship looked half-repaired. He switched on his shielding and powered up his weapon, walking slowly up to the door of the building.

A closed sign hung on the door. Veneer could not get the door to budge, so he sent his boot-like foot crashing through the stout plate glass with a resounding crash. The mechanic was lying on the floor, surrounded by a pool of blood. Alarmed, Veneer walked quickly up to him. A single bullet wound could be seen in the middle of the man's forehead. He was dead. Veneer gauged the caliber of the bullet at roughly .338, and, judging by the clean hole, it was a narrow bullet, probably a magnum round. He saw footprints in the dust floor, leading from the mechanics desk and up to the spot where he now lay.

Veneer slowly traced the man's footsteps and placed himself in exactly the same position as the man had been in before he had been shot. He peered out the window, making out a small bullet hole that he hadn't noticed before. He looked directly through the hole and spotted something gray and long sticking out of a warehouse window. He raised his judicator and fired a round at the window. The gray object retracted and he saw the rough outline of a man running out of the building. A policeman attempted to stop him, but was shot as the man made a desperate bid for freedom. Veneer raised his gun once again, aiming at the figures retreating back. He fired his shot lighting up the early morning air. Veneer saw the man collapse, an ice shard protruding from his back. When Veneer arrived at the scene, Police and resident troopers had clustered around the man who was quite obviously dead. The police, who had been speculating at the man's death, silenced themselves as Veneer walked quietly up to the dead man. He pulled the ice shard free and smashed it in his grip.

Turning to one of the troopers, Veneer told him of the dead mechanic at the repair shop. Several troopers jogged down to the repair shop, and were soon met by Veneer, who had followed close behind. He bid the troopers good luck and walked out the front door, a numb feeling coming over him at the thought of killing another living thing. He, who had made his living for three years as a gladiator was agonizing over the death of an assassin brought to justice. He shook these thoughts out of his head as he climbed aboard his gunship. By the looks of it, the mechanic had been killed for helping him.

Why else? Unless...Unless he saw something he wasn't supposed to. Yes that was it, thought Veneer, trying to persuade himself. Yet, he knew deep inside it was because of him that the man now lay dead in a pool of his own blood, on the floor of his once-clean and stark machine shop. Shaking his head in frustration, Veneer punched the engine-starter before realizing it was still broken. He walked to the back of the ship, opened a panel and kick-started the engine. As he sat down at the pilot's station, his thoughts turned to Samus. What was she up to right now? Had she heard about the recent triple-homicide in which he had been involved? He skimmed his ship low over the buildings of the town, scanning for the golden-red gunship that belonged to Samus. He hovered above a local diner, his powerful but beaten up engines whirring loudly. Soon, he spotted her coming out of the diner, walking towards the concealed gunship that had been parked in an alleyway. She took off, and Veneer followed her. He accelerated ahead of her, slewing to right and cutting in front of her.

She pulled aggressively aside of him, attempting to force him out of the way. He upped the amplification for the engines and roared past her, rolling over her gunship and spiraling out from underneath. She swerved to avoid his left wing and rolled to right. He fully accelerated forward, quickly outstripping her smaller gunship. As he had suspected, she followed him, clearly intending to chew him out when he landed. He flew for a repair station ahead and decided to stop off and have his ship repairs finished there. He cleared the rear docking ring on the hangar and swung his gunship with relative ease over the bulwarks of the station and into the hangar on the back of the large outpost. He exited his ship to see that of Samus directly beside his. She stalked out of the ship, a look of supreme indignation on her face. "What the hell was that for, your son of a…" She began, breaking off when she saw Veneer calmly flicking a piece of carbonated metal form his ship.

Her eyes went wide with surprise as she saw him talking casually with a mechanic about his ship. He turned to Samus as the mechanic walked off to gather his crew. "What was that for?" she questioned. He replied: "oh I don't know…I felt like flying like a maniac that's all." "Is this piece of crap your ship?" asked Samus, clearly irritated. Veneer laughed, saying:" yes as a matter of fact it is." Samus turned as if to leave, and then changed her mind and faced him saying: "Please don't do that again." "Okay, okay I won't." While they were talking, they failed to notice, as did everyone else present, a man holding a small, compact weapon in his hand stalking up to Veneer.

He gave a malicious chuckle, quietly as he could. Apparently not quiet enough. Samus heard him and her eyes widened as he desperately threw himself at Veneer. Veneer spun and with a resounding "Wham!" sent the young man flying into a wall. "These bastards just don't quit!" fumed Veneer as he walked up to the dazed young man. Samus frowned, apparently surprised at Veneers sudden outburst: "What bastards?" she questioned apprehensively. "They killed my previous mechanic in order to lure me into a trap of theirs." "They what?" asked Samus. "First of all, who's 'they'?" "That's the problem!" spat Veneer. "I have no idea who they are or why they want me dead!" "Do they think I had a choice, fighting opponent after opponent for three years?" "How do you know that's what this is about?" asked Samus quietly. "I…I don't know what to think anymore…" said Veneer. He punched the beam directly in front of him, leaving a judicator-shaped dent in it about 2 inches deep. Samus took his arm and led him into her ship. She looked at him with seriousness in her eyes. "What did they do to you?"

She asked, clearly concerned about him. Veneer shook his armored head saying: "They made me into something I'm not supposed to be." "They turned me into a murderer, a cold-blooded killer, acting on instinct all the time, never thinking about the course of my actions." "Day and night they drilled us, pitting us against creatures too terrible to tell of and forcing us to participate, teaching us to cope with things like pain and regret, to keep on going no matter how badly we were hurt." "I was forced to do this, I had no choice!" He finished, as if assuring himself. "I don't blame you, Veneer." "You-you don't?" "No" she answered sadness in her eyes. "I can't change you or turn you into something else, but I can try to help." "You have to do the changing yourself." Veneer nodded, turning sideways partially. "They made us fight other aliens." He said quietly.

"Humans, kriken, Cylosian, Samarans, space pirates…" His voice trailed off and he shuddered at these memories. He turned to Samus, saying: "I've killed hundreds without ever thinking about it, always trying stay alive so I could get out of that God-forsaken arena." He drew a great shuddering breath and looked Samus in the eye. "I am going back there to free the rest of them and there is nothing in the universe that can stop me." "I don't doubt it" said Samus. The resolve and hard, cold demeanor held by her friend assured her that those who held his friends would be paying dearly for their crimes.

Chapter 5: Servis Libertatis

Veneer woke the morning following that of the previous day where he had landed at the station to exact repairs on his ship. He found the station partially abandoned, most if its inhabitants were still asleep, as it was very early in the morning. He made his way down to the hangar to find Samus polishing up her gunship. His own gunship stood in the middle of the hangar, its former majesty restored. It was now a gleaming silver-white color and its wings were spotless. The formerly empty missile and weapon pods were now filled with a healthy armament of rockets, flechette missiles and Stryker-class semi-ballistic missiles. A large, intimidating set of heavy pulse-laser cannons surmounted both wing-tips. Twin plasma cannons were mounted at the front of the gunship. Samus stood at the front of her own gunship, polishing its green canopy. "Ready?" she asked him. "As I'll ever be." He responded in like tone.

Samus threw the rag she was using to the side and climbed into her gunship. Veneer did likewise and found that the inside had been scrubbed spotless. The interior was a soft white color and was stocked, provisioned and ready for an eager pilot. And eager he was. He was eager to return to the arena to pay back his handler is full, eager to see his friend (whose name was Galena) and free her from her bonds. He slid into his pilots chair and established a link between Samus's gunship and his own. "Let's get going" he said into the mic, which was responded to in like manner by Samus. They flew in tandem, mirroring each other's movements. "The arena has a shield over it to protect it from attack" said Veneer into his com Unit. "We'll have to take care of that, then." Said Samus. Veneer opened his starboard missile port, searching for viable targets. His auto targeting system locked onto a large, dome-like structure. /electrical output from this structure is covering arena structure and foundation, protection those within/ said his ships computer.

He locked on three more missiles, and pulled the arming trigger. He sent a burst of transmission across the com channel: "weapons free." Three distinct thuds were heard from his starboard wing. This was followed up by stutter-fire from Samus's guns. The dome like structure held, but Veneer's computer calculated the structural integrity at 44%. Frowning, Veneer released a withering barrage from his pulse cannons, completely demolishing the structure where it stood. A hazy blue bubble shimmered around the stadium, braking off with a deafening 'pop!' Veneer accelerated towards the ground, landing his ship in the middle of the arena. He switched on his gunships auto-defense systems and jumped to the ground. He watched in satisfaction as his plasma cannons cut a gaping hole where the prison block gate had been. Veneer rushed in to see Galena nursing another gladiator who had apparently been injured during a fight. The Cylosian who was glowering across him across the room brushed past galena and faced Veneer. "So, you decided to come back, did you?"

The Cylosian made as if to walk away, but whirled around, slashing at Veneer with a long-bladed weapon. Veneer dodged it, grasping it and swung it in a broad arc. The cylosian's headless corpse thudded to the ground. Galena rushed up to him and embraced him. "Veneer, they killed the rest of them!" "The rest of whom?" "They're liquidating! They started when you destroyed the generator. They had been planning for weeks!" Veneer looked Galena in the eyes: "I can do no more for them." Galena nodded, hanging her head unhappily. Veneer grasped her shoulders and said: "Get to my ship. Now. Go!" She nodded, herding the remaining seven prisoners from the room and out into the arena. Veneer cast around for anyone left and, finding no-one, walked out into the sun. The sight that met his eyes was horrific. A tall, blue plated alien was standing amidst the group of prisoners who had been going to his ship. It was holding Galena in its hands. She caught sight of him and shouted in a terrified voice: "Veneer!" He ran towards the thing, the world going by in slow motion.

The pirate held Galena out and brought back its scythe-covered arm. "NO!" was all Veneer could shout as the thing brought its scythe back and forwards, impaling Galena on it. Veneer, completely outraged, made a mighty leap, his powerful trochanters* sending him extremely high. Extending his own scythe, He spun to gain momentum and slashed downwards and at an angle. The creature's brains oozed out of its spilt head as it fell sideways, Galena still impaled on its scythe. He gently removed her, tears falling silently from behind his blue-green visor.

She coughed bright-blue blood, her body shuddering as her wound bled out. He could find nothing to say as Galena reached out and touched his shoulder. Her hand went limp and fell by her side. Veneer hugged her to him, grieving for the friend he could not save. Samus came quietly up, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry" was all she said. It was all she _could_ say. He did not answer, but nodded to her and, picking up Galena as one would a child, carried her aboard his ship and locked her into a cryo-tube. He and Samus then set course for Vho. When he arrived, he landed in an obscure region of the ice-bound planet.

Using his energy scythe, he carved a hole out of the solid ice. He laid Galena in it, filling it with snow and covering it in slabs of ice. He stood back, carving an epitaph in the Vhozon language onto Galena's tomb. He straightened up, admiring his work. Samus watched from a distance as he sealed it with several blasts from his judicator. He walked up to her, standing alongside her. She rested her head against his chest armor, and they stood for a while, just two friends grieving for a lost loved one. Eventually, Samus left him, saying goodbye. He did likewise, saying "Good luck and fair fortune to you, Samus Aran." He remained there, staring at the last reminder he had of his friend Galena's existence. And so he stood, like a statue, frozen and carved from ice.

Well, that's the end of that. For all of you that liked it, please R&R. I also have a special request to make of you all: I sort of left the story hanging. I would really love if you guys gave me some insight as to how you would like me to continue, if you want me to continue it. If not, then suggestions for new fanfics are welcome! Thanks for reading and reviewing!


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